TravelStream™ news feed for member omluke on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/omluke en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:59:26 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/omluke/1/1249959116/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/omluke/1/1249959116/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/omluke/1/1249959116/tpod.html Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:59:26 -0400 Outback and beyond

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Kiama, New South Wales, Australia

Epilogue

Well, sadly the trip has come to an end. Sad because it's been a fantastic journey and an amazing experience and it would be great to keep going as there is so much to see out there that we didn’t see, but there is a joy in it ending because after three months on the road you just want to be home. We have all loved it and want to do it again, but when we asked the girls last night they said no to doing it again tomorrow.

The places that really stick in my mind is seeing the Painted Desert under such amazing skies, the gorges of Karajini NP (particularly Kermit’s Pool), Steep Point, Cable Beach, Valley of The Winds, Kings Canyon, Rainbow Valley, Chambers Pillar El Questro and Mitchell Falls.

The events that are highlights are our first nights camp, the camp fire at Oodnadatta, burying our wine casks on the way to Lambert Centre, swimming at Edith Falls, swimming in Katherine Gorge (only to find out it was closed the week before as they THOUGHT there was a saltie), Owen skinny dipping in Litchfield, Maria’s fish, Samantha’s fish, Kirstyn’s fish, going down the big sand dune at Steep Pt ( not knowing how in the hell we would get out again) the cruise on the Pearl Lugger "Willie", the Jumping Croc Cruise, crossing the King Edward River and getting to Mitchell Falls, and seeing so many whales at Head Of The Bight. Getting to some geographical land marks was important for Owen too, Lake Eyre, with water, the lowest point below sea level in Australia, Lambert Centre, the geographical centre of Australia and Steep Point, the most westerly mainland point.

The camps that have been the best have been our isolated bush ones, Murray Sunset NP, Steep Point, and Albert Toglonini. In each case it was just so special to be out under clear black skies where the stars were just so bright and so numerous, the air crisp and it was all to ourselves. Even the crappiest van park we encountered (Oodnadatta Pink Road House) was a great night because of the people we spent the evening with.

There have been places and times and events that just didn’t give the same buzz and it’s because we were in sensory overload. Each day was something new and as the trip went on it took something so much better than the last time to become a new highlight.

It went so fast too. It would have been great to do it with more time, be able to relax as we travelled instead of rushing to fit the next adventure into a jam packed timetable.

We met some fantastic people on this trip, they made the journey really enjoyable. Jim and Lorraine, we hope to catch up with them in NZ soon. Richard, it was fantastic to do the Oodnadatta Track with you but sorry we couldn’t see you in Kalgoorlie as we ran out of time. The numerous Dutch couples we met, the German girls, Pat and Barrie from Batchelor, Emily and Sean and their girls at Purnululu, Pat and Alan at 80Mile Beach, the hippies from Byron Bay and so many more. And a really big thankyou goes to Rose and Brentyn for allowing us to stay with them in Broome. It was as far away from home as we could be and it was a point in the trip where we just didn’t know whether we should try and jamb WA in or just see a few key things. I’m glad we saw what we did and look forward to WA in more detail at a later time.

Our equipment, we learnt heaps. There is no perfect set up out there, everybody has different dreams and needs and every piece of gear has its compromises. Next time we will do it a little differently, it’s all about making it easier and we will adjust our set up to make it easier next time. How did it do? It did great. The Prado is a fantastic weapon. It gobbles the distance up with ease and comfort and it can do the rough stuff easy too. The mods did their trick, the suspension was great, the snorkel ensured the air filter was cleaner and the engine didn’t take a drink on the river crossings, the exhaust and chip gave the engine the extra power it needed to tow the trailer comfortably. The trailer was easy to use and other than not being as well prepared to cope with the bugs and rain it’s a great camp trailer. The Waeco is a fantastic fridge.

We had some little hassles but they were part of the journey and made the good things stand out. No one thing ever became too much of a hassle, the electrics in the camper which we fixed in Alice, the wheel alignment which is better but still not 100% right (the LHS tyre is now totally chopped out), wishing I’d had a bull bar at 6:35am yesterday, the exhaust system not being the perfect fit it should be, the Chescold Fridge (drinks fridge!) clagging it at El-Questro, rolling my ankle at Old Halls Creek (it’s still swollen – perhaps I should see a doctor about it?) and the inevitable pressure on the family relationships in such a confined space, 24/7 but they were probably no different to what would normally happen at home.

I have to say the girls, Kirstyn and Samantha were great. At times you think they are not interested in what we were doing, but later on you find out just how much they soaked up. Kirstyn has grown so much in confidence on this trip. She amazed us when she was just so keen to do the canyoning at Karijini, normally its Samantha that’s leading the way. They took on cooking duties, washing and wiping up, they helped with packing the trailer with what they could, they loved making a fire (and playing with it – don’t all kids) they kept themselves entertained over the long miles with their imaginary games (yes you can travel without an in car DVD!!!), they read books, they took photos of the things we took photos of but it is amazing what THEY see. They are sisters, through and through, they fought on occasions, but they remained the best of friends. They adopted every dog they saw at every camp we stopped at. They took other dogs for walks. They missed Occy. They made friends with so many people, kids their own age and they melted the hearts of the Grey Nomads. They were noisy and never shut up which frustrated us at times, when they were out of line and we pulled them up they understood, but they were really good kids. We got some great comments from people and they made us proud.

Regrets? Absolutely none!

We travelled 23,230km, taken over 6,000 photos, lived in a space 1.8m x 4m for 90 days, made 37 fuel stops, used just over 3,700 litres of diesel, camped with a totally self sufficient set up, experienced every type of weather other than snow, hail and a typhoon, with temperatures ranging from -3oC up to 38oC and some days a temp range of over 30oC, and seen what has to be the most amazing and beautiful country. But we love Kiama and it will always be the place where our heart rests.

I can’t wait for the next trip. Julie, how many days holiday have I got????


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Burra, South Australia, Australia

Friday 7th August 2009

I pump up the tyre first light and monitor the drop in pressure and decide we can make Ceduna and get it fixed there without the hassle of changing tyres. A tube was needed though to fix it as there were a number of punctures. Bloody tree roots! It cost us about 90mins and a lot of distance.

We do though make good time and get somewhere in nowhere east of Port Augusta and north of Adelaide (outside of Burra). Its cold though. Very cold!


Day 90 – Saturday 8th August 2009

It was so f^&%ing cold last night. Awake at 5:30am. Ice on the camper. We put the girls into the car, pack the trailer and decide to have breakfast later on when we get to a warmer, sunnier place. 25minutes into our trip, 2 seconds after passing a kangaroo sign the big bugger jumps out of the salt bush. An enormous bang, thud, suspension shudder front then back then the trailer jumps, then it all settles down OK. Owen stops to check. Hmmm, Skips in a lot pieces this morning. Car seems OK other than a little adjustment of the bumper. The trailer, well its fine, it's just covered in Skippy’s tummy contents. The smell!

Fortunately the rest of the trip home was far less eventful. The rain has made the country look fantastic, even the Hay Plains are green. We make Narrandera by 5pm and decide to go for home. We pulled into the driveway at 10:50pm very tired but happy to be home.
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Penong, South Australia, Australia

Wednesday 5th August 2009

Early start. It's taken 87 attempts to do it but we finally got up, packed and under way in under 75mins. Cross country road to Norseman through the wheat belt. Beautiful country. Crossed the Rabbit Proof Fence (these days it only stops the emu's and camels. We also stopped at the monument to the Halls Track (Norseman to Kalgoorlie). Sponsored by the Landcruiser Club of WA it looks like a genuine 4WD track. It on the list for next time. We made our way across the Nullabor Plain onto the 90 Mile Straight and then to a good road side camp.

Thursday 6th August 2009

Another early start. We are getting better – on our way in just on an hour! We wanted to get as far as possible again so we could spend some time looking at the whales at Head Of The Bight. What a sight. Probably 30 odd whales right below us, cow and calfs and others in the distance splashing jumping and yep what whales do with lots of spare time available too. There were a couple of albino whales too. It was cold though and very, very windy. Hopefully the photos come out OK. A road side camp west of Penong.

Through the night the wind came up and we had our first rain since Alice Springs. A check of things when the rain stopped though revealed a flat tyre on the trailer. We’ve covered some of Australia’s worst roads without a problem and we get a flat in the camp site!!!!
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Hyden, Western Australia, Australia

Today's the day. We start heading home. First a stop though, at Wave Rock. Only a few hundred km but it took all day to get there. The girls were amazed at the Dog Cemetery at Corrigan. It started in 1974 with "Strike" and now has over 100 dogs there. Hyden has an interesting street-scape made up of scrap metal sculptures depicting important locals through the ages.

We went to visit hippos' yawn and wave rock. We had the obligatory surfing shots for fun and walked around and then worked out whether to stay or keep going. We decided to stay and just as well because when we left Perth the canvas was totally wet from the sea air condensation. Inside was damp through, but at least our bedding and clothes were dry.

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Woodman Point, Western Australia, Australia

Sunday 2nd August 2009

Yeh, no wind, what a relief. Had a look at another set of stromatolites in Lake Thesis at Cervantes then headed for Perth. Drove in through the Swan Valley – really nice place.

Driving through Perth I get a "hey Owen!" Yelled at me – Tony Griffin – has left Kiama and is now living in Perth and loving it. S'pose Tony won’t be rowing for Kiama this season - small world – again!

Set camp south of Freemantle and go for a walk to the beach and jetty. Really needed to do something for the girls as the trip has been lots of travel, walking, site-seeing and not enough holiday activity time – the legacy of travelling so far and seeing so much in a relatively short time and it’s nearly time to make the 4000km trek home. Ice Age 3 should be on and something they want to see. It was a 100km round trip south to see it in Mandurah – girls loved it. Movie was great too – yeh kid dinner as well. (Burp – bloody gerkins!)

Monday 3rd August

Looking at Perth today, no agenda just go with the flow. We drove to Fremantle and got the train into Perth. Guess what! They’ve got pay for parking lots at the station – nothing unusual here, $2 for the day – good rate – but you have to have a smart card to access the payment points. A nice lady paid for us with her card and we paid her the $2. Stick one up the bureaucracy for making it hard for visitors and give one to the nice lady!

The train was really good, getting us into Perth in about ½hr. We walked to get on a Red Cat Bus (free city travel) then onto a Blue Cat Bus (different route) which took us down to the Swan River ferry wharfs.

Perth’s Bell Tower is a magnificent 6 story glass structure with an additional glass spire on top. 12 Bells tolling, the largest is 1480kg of bronze and when they were tolling the building shakes quite a bit. Great views of Perth from the 6th level observation platform. They are looking for a 6.2 tonne bell to finish it all off. Maria and Kirstyn took a ride on the Big Wheel Of Perth. Lunch at the wharf was very nice, snapper & chips & salad and a nice glass of white wine.

We then headed for Kings Park. Jacob Ladder took us from river level up to the park, 221 steps latter. (Note to Andie – a lap here is better than the stepping machine). After a walk around we decided to sit on the grass for a bit of a rest and to have an ice cream, Owen decided he would try and have a rest . Would the girls let him???

Back to the city to catch the train back to Fremantle and back to the campsite, move again tomorrow.


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Cervantes, Western Australia, Australia

Saturday 1st August 2009

Windy again, and cold. We meandered from Geraldton to Cervantes along the Coastal Road. The Coast has some lovely spots – Port Denison in particular – but it's all fishing, not a really a swimming or surfing area. The only surfers seen had taken a boat out to an outer reef to get a few waves, short, quick sections and less ride than a Werri shorie!

Cervantes is windy too. Left the trailer in the cv pk and headed into Nambumg NP to see the Pinnacles. I told the girls we were going to see a forest which excited them (not!). We took the walk through the pinnacles firstly then took the drive afterwards. Some pillars are eerie, others comical but at every turn there is another unique stunning sculpture.
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Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia

Thursday 30th July 2009

The girls are missing Occy – badly. Any dog they come across they want to adopt. The couple we camped next to had a maltesse cross muted yapper, which the girls took for little walks and plays. Once we got away from the dog we headed for Geraldton to settle for two nights and stock up on food and fuel.

The girls played with some other girls from Port Lincoln ("across the Nullabor") and had some down time out of the car and from bush walking. We took it easy and just did the shopping and a little drive around Geraldton.

The memorial to HMAS Sydney is just heart breaking. She sank in a battle 112nm west of Steep Point in 1941 when engaged with a German ship Kormoran. Both sank. 645 lives lost on Sydney. Every aspect of the memorial is blood well thought out. Both ships were found in March 2008 in 2.5km of water and an addition to the memorial a ships prow replica has been made.

Friday 31st July 2009

Windy this morning, really windy and cold – 5oC again. The temps during the day are OK, mid 20 – 25oC and it really nice but the nights now are cold. After eventually cooking brekkie – the wind was blowing straight into the kitchen – and get a cylinder of gas, we head for Kalbarri NP.

Easy day just drive look and do some short walks. The first lookouts were into the Murchison River Gorge – Hawk Head Rock and Ross Graham LO. Then onto Natures Window. From there we went Kalbarri on the coast. Still windy there. Nice place, really rough entrance to the estuary from the sea.

From there we looked at the sea cliffs and coastal gorges (Natural Bridge, Castle Cove) and spotted more whales. A mother and its calf were the most spectacular, the calf really putting on a show, jumping and splashing whilst mum cruised along.

Nice dinner in Geraldton at an Italian restaurant, the cost with drinks was the same as the crap we got at Drysdale! Gimmie the coastal life any day!
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Steep Point, Western Australia, Australia

Monday 27th July 2009

Heading south today. Plan is Carnarvon.

We detour into Coral Bay and have a quick look. Only tourist parks and shops and three wind power generators which were working unlike the three at Exmouth which are out of action. Very tourist only orientated place. A quick photo and on our way.

Carnarvon didn't do it for Owen so after some fuel and bread we headed south further for a road camp.

Tuesday 28th July 2009

Up early and a quick pack too to get going. Destination Steep Point, the most westerly point of the Australian mainland. The track in was dirt then the last 60km is sand, soft boggy sand and a lot of sand dunes to cross. Owen says, low tyre pressures (20psi) make a huge difference, the car just floats over the sand. The Prado ate it up, even towing the Kimberly.

We got to the ranger station and the ranger asked what our booking was. When we said we didn’t have one he looked at the camp trailer and then us and asked why we brought it and he gave us a real strange look too. Great guy though, Scottish and possibly a relation of Jimmy Barnes! Well if you’ve got a camp site we’ll have one then please. What a fantastic spot. 20ft to the water in the most picturesque (other than Kiama) place we’ve been to on the coast.
We headed to Steep Point, then Zudoypt Clifts. On the cliffs is a memorial to the Nor 6 which sank there Anzac Day 1963 due to the inaccuracy of the current ocean charts which were as in the 1800s! It tells of the tragic loss of life of all on the prawn trawler other than the Captain who was flung free of the wreckage which sank in under a minute and of his struggle for survival for the next 14 days. Fantastic sights. Magic spot. Will book to come back here again.

A real highlight though was the humpback whales just off the coast. Possibly 12 of them, blowing, splashing and jumping. Magnificent to see in such a special place.

For fun Owen gave the girls a drive of the car. They loved it even though they had no idea of keeping the car on the track. They steered, I did the brake and gear thing. Huge smiles. My problem is they will be at me for more now.

Back at camp we have a little fishing session to use up the remaining bait from 80 Mile Beach. Bites galore which was good for the girls to experience. Kirstyn was to only one to bag a whiting though as their mouths were just too small for the gear I had. Nice fish, nearly 12’’ long too. He went safely back to sea.

Wednesday 29th July 2009
Beautiful morning, even though the breeze was a little strong and cool. Probably 10oC this morning. We wanted to get out early before the possibility of other 4WD's coming in made the going out a little harder as the track is very narrow in most places.

On the way in was a real narly dune which on the downward side was really steep and very soft. Owen was a tad concerned about getting back over it. On reaching that dune there is a secondary track and no need to go the hard way. Phew.

We drove into Hamlin Pool to look at the stromatolites which occur here and only one other place in the world. They look like rocks but are living cyanobacteria which have survived here because of the sand bar across the bay 47km to the north. This sand bar reduces the effect of the tides from coming in and results in hyper-salinity water in the bay. No other creatures can tolerate the salt so the stromatolites survive where they are consumed as food in otherwise normal sea conditions. These are over 5,000 yrs old and date back to 3,500 million years ago as the earliest forms of life on earth - prior to the earth having an oxygen rich atmosphere. By creating oxygen as a by-product they are responsible for changing the earth’s atmosphere to a 20% oxygen level to allow other life forms to evolve.

We had some nice burgers and milk shakes at the caravan park at Hamlin pool then headed on our way to find a camp closer to Geraldton. We camped by the Murchison River with probably the remainder of the grey nomads not already camped in either Broome, 80 Mile Beach, Exmouth or Coral Bay!
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Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia

Friday 24th July 2009

Big day today, we might just make Exmouth or may just do a road side camp out not far away. Leaving Karijini, the landscape of the Hammersley Ranges is magnificent. The camera just can't’ capture the colour and the scope of the landscape. Vast valleys and very picturesque mountain ranges which we did not see any real mine activity evidence.

Before we reach Tom Price we come to a lookout, which has become a traveller’s memorial. Lots of rocks are painted and left in memory of loved ones. Quite unusual.

Tom Price is mining central. Fuel, sugar (which we ran out of in Karijini on day one) and bread, then on our way. Mount Nameless towers over the town. The mine is some distance away and I’d like to look at that but some other time. The landscape continues to be amazing. More open plains now and the mountains when they occur are isolated and majestic like Mt Murray.

Lunch at Nurantarra Roadhouse was a rip off. Rude staff. $14 for a steak sandwich – which was OK but way overpriced. We decide that Exmouth is possible and make good head way. Unfortunately when we get to Exmouth all the parks in town are full. No free camping here and big fines for trying to do so. Luckily we get an unpowered site 35km away at Yardie on the west coast. Not what we wanted but at this time – now 7pm – we don’t care – we just want to set camp, have dinner and go to sleep. We are all buggered from the 700+km trip.

Saturday 25th July 2009

Bloody wind! We could be at home to get this. We didn’t put the awning up last night when we set camp so attempt to this morning, but the ground is the hardest we have encountered and the pegs want to bend after just one inch of penetration. They won’t go in any further so Owen decides the awning is coming off.

Today we just do some shopping and get a little orientated with Exmouth. In the morning neither Ri nor I are real keen about the place, probably because of the wind, being tired from the huge trip yesterday, being lucky to get a camp site and our wish and expectation of being able to just lie on the beach and relax for a few days. Can’t do that in this 30kt breeze with stronger gusts.bc

By afternoon after going into town, shopping and looking at a few things we are starting to like the place and decide another night is worthwhile. Did you know that the navy has a complete radio transmission base and submarine base at Exmouth that is dedicated to trying to find Harold Holt?

Exmouth also has a "disabled fishing area" at the end of a jetty. Just off the rocks is the wreck of the SS Mildura. We also went to the Jurabi Turtle display and instead of seeing turtles we saw whales out at sea.

Back at camp we took advantage of the wind and the girls flew their kites for nearly two hours. They had a ball.

Sunday 26th July 2009

It was very windy last night, Maria was complaining how she didn’t get any sleep. Owen got up and put another rope over the tropical roof around midnight and moved the car to try and give the trailer some protection from the wind. It was still blowing like mad in the morning so we stayed in bed until around 8.30am, although couldn’t sleep in because the girls were awake at 6pm.

We took out time when we finally got up and about 11am decided to head into Cape Range National Park, we could have a look at the bays or go for a walk in the gorges depending on weather. We went to visit the visitors centre and by this time the wind had dropped so we headed for Turquoise Bay which we have been told is great for drift snorkelling. The girls aren’t keen even though we brought them a noodle so they stayed at the water’s edge and play while we go for a snorkel around the coral.

The colours of the fish were amazing, the water was fresh at first but didn’t take long to adjust. You hopped into the water at the south end and drifted along the beach to the north end, we both enjoyed it. We tried to get the girls in and almost had Samantha convinced but unfortunately they just don’t have the confidence. We spent a few hours in the sun and water and then Owen wanted to drive to the end Yardie Creek before heading back to the caravan park for dinner.
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Karijini National Park, Western Australia, Australia

Monday 20th July 2009

Time to leave 80 mile Beach. If we had more time I could chill out here and just fish and beach comb. We headed to Port Headland for fuel and food top up. Not much at PH - to keep us there - other than BHP, big trains a salt farm and the port. Lunch was at a chain called Chicken Treat which we have seen since NT. The food was not great.

Getting on to close to 4pm we turned into a lookout for the East Munjini Gorge. There was also a camp spot there so we found a great spot at the top of the hill overlooking towards Karijini. A fire, a BBQ and a chilly night made for a fantastic camp – one of the best bush camps we have had! At night we could see fires on the distant ranges – WA NP's are doing controlled burning at night.

Tuesday 21st July 2009

Cold this morning, possibly 12oC or less and a fog covered the ranges in the distance for a short while. Not far to go today, just into Karijini, set camp and spend the day wandering the gorges. Dales Gorge Campground – well set out and well spaced out too.

We spent the arvo wandering Dales Gorge. Circular Pool was the first swim of the day (Owen) was at the bottom of a non-running waterfall, but fed by a spring which provided a warm shower after swimming through the very cold pool water. We wandered the gorge to Fortescue Falls then on to the Fern Pool. Again cold, but a little warmer than the Circular Pool. Samantha thought it was ice though and tried to walk out of the pool on the top of the water! The water fall was flowing here and was about 5oC warmer than the pool. Both pools are crystal clear and a spectacular sight.

Wednesday 22nd July 2009

First stop was the visitors centre which has the usual information of both European and Aboriginal history of the area. In particular the area was mined for Crocodolite which is blue asbestos. Hard to get at because of the difficult extraction of the layers between the iron stone, from discovery in 1908 mining at Wittenoom had finished by 1966, due both the financial loss and the cancer risk associated with asbestosis.

Kalamina Falls and Gorge was an easy walk. Spectacular in some spots and just ordinary in others the walk finished at the Arch Rock Pool, which whilst listed as a swimming spot was not inviting due to the amount of algae in the pools and creek.

Later on we looked at Weano Gorge and Oxer Lookouts which are at the top of the intersection of four gorges before running further on into Wittenoom Gorge. We drove then to Joffre Falls for a look, where Kirstyn decides she would like to do the walk to the bottom of the Falls tomorrow – a 3km walk which descends down a rock face over 200ft in the last 500m! Hmmm we’ll do that with one of the Weano walks tomorrow.

Thursday 23rd July 2009

After another 2oC night at 6am Kirstyn announces she is now not keen to do Joffre Falls Gorge, so we plan to do Kermit’s Pool and the Handrail Pool in the Weano Gorge area.

They were just magnificent experiences. Grade 5 walks in which we were regularly wading through waist deep very cold water. Hancock’s Gorge had a steep decent a ladder section before an easy rock scramble then a wade to the Amphitheatre. From there the Spider Walk was exactly that – you cling onto the rocks, ledges and anything to stop sliding down with the water in the narrow shute to Kermit’s Pool. No frogs here, just deep crystal clear green water and very very very cold water. From there the water drops down a series of grade 6 cascades into Reagan’s Pool, named after the SES volunteer who lost his life there whilst performing a rescue in flash flood conditions.

After lunch we did the Weano Gorge walk from the top end down to the intersection of the track into the gorge and the Handrail Pool. Similar conditions to the slot into Kermit’s Pool. We have to say that both Kirstyn and Samantha were really great in the way they went through all of the challenges and they did them with growing confidence but still with a real regard for doing it safely.

The conditions were very cold and very slippery and its just not the place to have an accident, which almost happened to an older bloke at the Kermit Pool as he slipped on the rocks and fell into the pool. He was only worried about his camera getting wet but we thought he may have broken his leg the way he fell. Fortunately he was OK and talking to him later at camp it was only his ego that was bruised.

Karijini is the jewel in WA and I could spend more time here, but it’s time to head to Exmouth. The amazing thing about Karijini compared to the Gibb River Rd Gorges is at Gibb R – Elquestro end the gorges are in the mountain ranges, where at Karijini the gorges are in the plains between the mountains, which means they fall quite deeply into the earth in comparison to the Kimberly.
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